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JOINT CIRCULAR

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 78/ 2009/ND-CP of September 22, 2009, detailing and guiding a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 93/ 2008/ND-CP of August 22, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 15/ 2008/ND-CP of February 4, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 77/ 2009/ND-CP of September 15, 2009, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security;

The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security jointly guide the implementation of the Government's Decree No. 78/2009/ND-CP of September 22, 2009, detailing and guiding a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality, as follows:

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Joint Circular guides the receipt, verification and transfer of nationality dossiers; notification of results of settlement of nationality-related matters; handling of dossiers of application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality in case papers guaranteeing the acquisition of foreign nationality become invalid; settlement of the naturalization in Vietnam of stateless persons under Article 22 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality; registration for retention of Vietnamese nationality and notification of acquisition of foreign nationality; certification of holding of Vietnamese nationality and certification of Vietnamese origin; and taking notes of nationality information in birth registers.

Article 2. Receipt and verification of dossiers of application for naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality

1. Upon receiving a dossier of application for naturalization in Vietnam or restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, if considering that the dossier is complete and valid, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission or the provincial-level Justice Department (below referred to as dossier-receiving agency) shall record it in the register of dossiers of application for naturalization in Vietnam, restoration and renunciation of Vietnamese nationality and, at the same time, issue to the dossier submitter a receipt which is made according to the set form and affixed with the seal of the dossier-receiving agency at its top left corner. If the dossier is neither complete nor valid, the dossier-receiving agency shall guide the applicant to supplement the dossier according to the 2008 Law on Vietnamese Nationality and guiding documents.

2. The dossier-receiving agency shall verify the dossier of application for naturalization in Vietnam or restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality aiming to examine the lawfulness of papers in dossiers and the truthfulness of information on the applicant. The dossier-receiving agency shall request competent agencies to conduct inspection and verification if detecting unclear or inaccurate details in the applicant's name, address, family relations and purposes of application for naturalization in Vietnam or restoration and renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, information evidencing the applicant's contribution to Vietnam's national construction and defense, the benefits brought about by the applicant's naturalization in Vietnam or restoration of Vietnamese nationality to the Vietnamese State, or other relevant information.

3. The dossier-receiving agency shall make a list of papers included in each dossier and a list of applicants for settlement of nationality-related affairs according to set forms.

4. The dossier-receiving agency shall classify dossiers of application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality into two categories: dossiers exempted from verification of personal identification information under Article 30 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality and dossiers subject to verification of personal identity. For a dossier of application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality which is exempted from verification of personal identification information, the paper guaranteeing the acquisition of foreign nationality must remain valid for at least 120 days counting from the date of receiving the dossier; if the dossier is ineligible for exemption form verification of personal identification information, this paper must remain valid for at least 150 days counting from the date of receiving the dossier.

Article 3. Transfer of dossiers of application for naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality

1. Overseas Vietnamese representative missions (through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities (below referred to as provincial-level People's Committees) shall send to the Ministry of Justice their written proposals on the handling of dossiers of application for naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, enclosed with the list of applicants and their dossiers.

Along with their written proposals on the handling of dossiers of application for naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, overseas Vietnamese representative missions and provincial-level People's Committees shall concurrently e-mail to the Ministry of Justice a list of applicants for settlement of nationality-related matters via the Ministry's address: quoctich@moj.gov.vn.

2. After receiving written proposals on the handling of dossiers of application for naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, enclosed with a list of applicants and their dossiers as stated at Clause 1 of this Article, the Ministry of Justice shall record them in the dossier register and upload on its portal the list of applicants for settlement of nationality-related matters. The Ministry of Justice shall update the schedule and results of handling of dossiers for the uploaded list.

Article 4. Notification of results of handling of dossiers to applicants for naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality

1. If the applicant for naturalization in Vietnam or restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality resides in the country, within 10 days after receiving the President's decision permitting the naturalization in Vietnam or restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, the Ministry of Justice shall send to the person who is permitted for naturalization in Vietnam or restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality a copy of this decision, enclosed with an excerpt of the list of persons permitted for naturalization in Vietnam or restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, and, at the same time, send another copy to the provincial-level People's Committee which received the dossier for monitoring, management and making update of statistics on nationality-related matters already settled.

2. If the applicant for restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality resides abroad, within 10 days after receiving the President's decision permitting the restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, the Ministry of Justice shall send to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a copy of this decision, enclosed with the list of persons permitted for restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, for sending to the overseas Vietnamese representative mission which received the dossier. Within 10 days after receiving a copy of the President's decision, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall send to the person who is permitted for restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality a notice clearly stating the number, date of issue and contents of the decision.

3. In case the Ministry of Justice considers a dossier unqualified for submission to the President for decision on the naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality or the President does not permit the naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, it shall notify such in writing to the overseas Vietnamese representative mission (via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) or the provincial-level People's Committee for notification to the applicant.

Article 5. Notification of the naturalization in Vietnam, restoration and renunciation of Vietnamese nationality to civil status registration agencies

1. Within 10 days after the President issues a decision permitting the naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, the Ministry of Justice shall notify the provincial-level Justice Department with which the concerned Vietnamese citizen has made birth registration or the unit which archives birth registers of the former regime for the latter to take notes in the birth register under the guidance in Article 14 of this Joint Circular. If the applicant has made birth registration at the People's Committee of a district, town or provincial city (below referred to as district-level People's Committee) or the People's Committee of a commune, ward or township (below referred to as commune-level People's Committee), after receiving the Justice Ministry's notification, the provincial-level Justice Department shall notify the district-level People's Committee or commune-level People's Committee which has made birth registration for the latter to take notes in the birth register.

In case the person permitted for naturalization in Vietnam or restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality has made birth registration at an overseas Vietnamese representative mission, the notification shall be sent to such overseas Vietnamese representative mission; if the birth register has been transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affair for archive, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall notify such to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the latter to take notes in the birth register kept at the Ministry.

2. For a person permitted for restoration of Vietnamese nationality whose renunciation of Vietnamese nationality has been previously noted in the birth register, the notification and taking of notes of the restoration of Vietnamese nationality in the birth register also comply with the guidance in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Upon receiving a notification of naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, if the agency that has made birth registration no longer archives the birth register, it shall notify such to the Ministry of Justice for monitoring and management.

Article 6. Handling of dossiers of application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality in case the paper guaranteeing the acquisition of foreign nationality becomes invalid

1. In case the handling of a dossier of application for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality is prolonged, therefore, the paper guaranteeing the acquisition of foreign nationality becomes invalid, the Ministry of Justice shall notify such to the overseas Vietnamese representative mission for notification to the applicant for carrying out procedures to apply for the extension or re-grant of this paper.

2. The overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall take measures to support the applicant in carrying out procedures to apply for the extension or re-grant of the paper guaranteeing the acquisition of foreign nationality, if so requested by the applicant for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality.

3. The applicant for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality shall submit the extended or re-granted paper guaranteeing the acquisition of foreign nationality to the overseas Vietnamese representative mission for the latter to send it to the Ministry of Justice for submission to the President for consideration and decision on the renunciation of Vietnamese nationality.

Article 7. Naturalization in Vietnam of stateless persons under Article 22 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality

1. The provincial-level Justice Department shall assume the prime responsibility for. And coordinate with the Public Security Department of the province or centrally run city (below referred to as provincial-level Public Security Department), foreign affairs agency and other concerned agencies and organizations in. elaborating a plan on naturalization in Vietnam of stateless persons currently residing in the locality who lack personal identification papers but have been stably residing the Vietnamese territory for 20 years or more by July I. 2009, and submit this plan to the chairperson of the provincial-level People's Committee for approval.

Based on the approved plan, the provincial-level Justice Department shall assume the prime responsibility, and coordinate with district-level People's Committees in, guiding commune-level People's Committees to revise and draw up a list of eligible persons who currently reside in the locality.

2. The provincial-level Public Security Department shall assume the prime responsibility for. and coordinate with the provincial-level Justice Department and concerned agencies in the locality in. verifying personal identification information and the duration of residence of stateless persons in the locality.

In case an eligible stateless person has resided in different provinces or centrally run cities, the provincial-level Public Security Department shall contact the Public Security Departments of localities where this person has resided for verification.

Article 8. Publicization of the list of overseas Vietnamese representative missions conducting registration for retention of Vietnamese nationality and receiving notices of acquisition of foreign nationality

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall upload on its portal a list of overseas Vietnamese representative missions in all regions which are competent to conduct registration for retention of Vietnamese nationality and receive notices of acquisition of foreign nationality of Vietnamese citizens residing abroad. This list will be also uploaded on the Justice Ministry's portal.

Article 9. Legal documents and papers used to identify Vietnamese nationality of registrants for retention of Vietnamese nationality

1. Overseas Vietnamese representative missions shall apply legal documents on Vietnamese nationality which were promulgated from 1945 till July 1.2009. to determine whether registrants for retention of Vietnamese nationality hold Vietnamese nationality at the time of registration. These documents include:

- Decree No. 53/SL of October 20. 1945. providing for Vietnamese nationality;

- Decree No. 73/SL of December 7. 1945. providing for the naturalization in Vietnam;

- Decree No. 25/SL of February 25. 1946.

amending Decree No. 53/SL of October 20.1945. providing for Vietnamese nationality;

- Decree No. 215/SL of August 20. 1948. establishing special interests for foreigners who make meritorious services to Vietnam's resistance wars;

- Decree No. 51/SL of December 14. 1959. annulling Articles 5 and 6 of Decree No. 53/SL of October 20. 1945. providing for Vietnamese nationality:

- Resolution No. 1043/NQ-1VQHK6 of February 8. 1971. of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the renunciation of Vietnamese nationality or naturalization in Vietnam;

- Decision No. 268/TTg of September 12. 1980. of the Prime Minister on the policies to permit the renunciation or restoration of Vietnamese nationality of overseas Vietnamese;

- The 1988 Law on Vietnamese Nationality and guiding documents;

- The 1998 Law on Vietnamese Nationality and guiding documents;

- Treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party.

2. Papers on personal identity, civil status and nationality granted by the former regimes may also be used as grounds for overseas Vietnamese representative missions to consider and identify Vietnamese nationality of registrants for retention of Vietnamese nationality.

3. When applying Vietnam's legal documents on nationality or examining papers to identify Vietnamese nationality prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, if meeting with any problems in specific cases, overseas Vietnamese representative missions shall report them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for coordination with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security for timely guidance.

Article 10. Verification of Vietnamese nationality of registrants for retention of Vietnamese nationality

1. In case a registrant for retention of Vietnamese nationality lacks papers to evidence his/her Vietnamese nationality or his/her papers are unclear, apart from information in the declaration of registration for retention of Vietnamese nationality, the registrant shall additionally submit a curriculum vitae and the following papers (if any) to serve the verification of his/her nationality:

- Copies of papers on personal identity, civil status and nationality of his/her grandparents, parents, siblings or offspring;

- Copies of papers concerning his/her nationality issued by the former regime before April 30. 1975;

- Copies of papers indicating his/her Vietnamese nationality or Vietnamese origin, issued by foreign competent authorities;

2. For cases in which verification must be conducted to identify whether an applicant holds Vietnamese nationality, within 5 working days after receiving the declaration of registration for retention of Vietnamese nationality, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission shall send a written verification request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, enclosed with copies of papers and information, so as to serve the verification of information supplied by the registrant.

Within 5 working days after receiving a written request from the overseas Vietnamese representative mission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall send to the Ministry of Public Security a written request for verification of the applicant's personal identification information and. at the same time, send to the Ministry of Justice a written request for checking whether the registrant is included in the list of persons who have been permitted for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality or have been deprived of Vietnamese nationality.

The Ministry of Public Security shall conduct the verification and notify in writing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of verification results within 60 days after receiving a written verification request.

The Ministry of Justice shall check the list of persons who have been permitted by the President for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality and the list of persons who have been deprived of Vietnamese nationality in its archival system and notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the results within 30 days after receiving a written request.

3. Within 5 working days after receiving a written reply stated in Clause 2 of this Article, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall send a notification of verification and checking results to the overseas Vietnamese representative mission for completion of procedures of registration for retention of Vietnamese nationality

Article 11. Notification of acquisition of foreign nationality

1. A Vietnamese citizen who concurrently holds foreign nationality defined in Clause 1, Article 21 of the Government's Decree No. 78/ 2009/ND-CP of September 22.2009. detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality shall directly or. through his/her parent or guardian, submit a notice of acquisition of foreign nationality to the overseas Vietnamese representative mission or provincial-level Justice Department of the locality where he/she resides (below referred to as notice-receiving agency). The notice will be made according to the set form and bear the signature of the notifier.

If the notifier is unable to conduct the notification as prescribed above, he/she may mail a notice of acquisition of foreign nationality, enclosed with copies of his/her personal identi­fication papers, to the notice-receiving agency.

2. Within 10 working days after receiving a notice of acquisition of foreign nationality, the notice-receiving agency shall take notes in the birth register under the guidance in Article 15 of this Joint Circular, if it has previously made the birth registration. The place of birth registration shall be determined based on the notifier's declaration in the notice.

If the birth registration has been previously made by another agency, the notice-receiving agency shall send a notice to the provincial-level Justice Department or the overseas Vietnamese representative mission at which the applicant has made birth registration for the latter to take notes in the birth register. If the birth registration has been made at a district-level or commune-level People's Committee, after receiving the notice, the provincial-level Justice Department shall notify such to the district- or commune-level People's Cummittee for the latter to take notes in the birth register.

Upon receiving a notice of a citizen's acquisition of foreign nationality, if the agency that has made birth registration no longer archives the birth register, the notice-receiving agency shall notify such to the Ministry of Justice.

Article 12. Reporting on results of registration for retention of Vietnamese nationality, registration of citizenship and notification of acquisition of foreign nationality

1. Overseas Vietnamese representative missions which receive registration for retention of Vietnamese nationality and notices of acquisition of foreign nationality shall annually summarize and report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a list of registrants for retention of Vietnamese nationality and a list of Vietnamese citizens who have notified their acquisition of foreign nationality. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall notify these lists to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security.

Annually, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall notify the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Security of the results of citizenship registration in overseas Vietnamese representative missions to serve the settlement, management, summarization and making of statistics of nationality-related matters.

2. Provincial-level Justice Departments which receive notices of acquisition of foreign nationality shall annually summarize and report to the Ministry of Justice a list of Vietnamese citizens who have notified their acquisition of foreign nationality. The Ministry of Justice shall notify this list to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security.

Article 13. Certification of holding of Vietnamese nationality and certification of Vietnamese origin

1. When a person wishes to apply for certification of holding of Vietnamese nationality, he/she shall send an application to the overseas Vietnamese representative mission in the country or the provincial-level Justice Department of the locality where he/she resides, clearly stating the purposes of applying for certification of holding of Vietnamese nationality, enclosed with copies of papers evidencing his/her Vietnamese nationality.

Within 5 working days after receiving the application for certification of holding of Vietnamese nationality, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission or the provincial-level Justice Department shall propose the Ministry of Justice to check whether the applicant is included in the list of persons who have been permitted by the President for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality and the list of persons who have been deprived of Vietnamese nationality. Within 10 days after receiving the written request, the Ministry of Justice shall check the nationality-related information archival system and issue a written reply.

Based on papers evidencing Vietnamese nationality and the reply of the Ministry of Justice, if considering that there are sufficient grounds to confirm that the applicant holds Vietnamese nationality, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission or the provincial-level Justice Department shall issue a written certification of holding of Vietnamese nationality to the applicant.

2. When a person wishes to apply for certification of Vietnamese origin, he/she shall send to the overseas Vietnamese representative mission of the country or the provincial-level Justice Department of the locality where he/she resides an application for certification of Vietnamese origin, clearly stating the purpose of application, enclosed with papers evidencing that he/she used to hold Vietnamese nationality which was determined upon his/her birth by consanguinity.

Within 5 working days after receiving an application for certification of Vietnamese origin, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission or the provincial-level Justice Department shall request the Ministry of Justice to check the list of persons who have been permitted by the President for renunciation of Vietnamese nationality and the list of persons who have been deprived of Vietnamese nationality. Within 10 working days after receiving a written request, the Ministry of Justice shall check the nationality information archival system and issue a written reply.

Based on the inspection results, if considering that there are sufficient grounds to confirm that the applicant is a person of Vietnamese origin, within 5 working days after the date of completion of all inspection procedures, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission or the provincial-level Justice Department shall issue a written certification of the applicant's Vietnamese origin.

3. If there are not sufficient grounds to confirm that the applicant holds Vietnamese nationality or has Vietnamese origin, the overseas Vietnamese representative mission or the provincial-level Justice Department shall notify in writing the applicant thereof.

Article 14. Taking notes of the naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality in birth registers

Upon receiving a notice of naturalization in Vietnam, restoration or renunciation of Vietnamese nationality, the agency which archives the birth register under the guidance in Article 5 of this Joint Circular shall take notes in the "note" column in the birth register. To-be noted details include the number, date of issue and contents of the decision. The officer who takes notes shall sign, write his/her full name and the date of taking notes.

Article 15. Taking notes of acquisition of foreign nationality in birth registers

1. Upon receiving a notice of acquisition of foreign nationality, the agency which archives the birth register under the guidance in Article 11 of this Joint Circular shall take notes of the acquisition of foreign nationality of Vietnamese citizens in the "note" column of the birth register. To-be noted details include the acquired foreign nationality, the time of acquisition of foreign nationality and the method of acquisition of foreign nationality. The officer who takes notes shall sign, write his/her full name and the date of taking notes

2. After the acquisition of foreign nationality of a Vietnamese citizen has been noted, when this person is re-granted a birth certificate or granted a copy of the birth register of the birth certificate, both Vietnamese nationality and foreign nationality will be recorded in the "nationality" box.

Article 16. Organization of implementation

This Circular takes effect on April 15. 2010.

Annually, the Ministry of Justice shall make statistics of. summarize and report the results of settlement of nationality-related matters to the Government.

Guiding the implementation of the government's decree no. 78/2009/ND-CP of September 22,2009, detailing and guiding a number of articles of the law on Vietnamese nationality